helminthic therapy
I read the posts on the forum on helminthic therapy and it's terrible to see the amount of misinformation that's floating around. I have done quite a lot of research on the subject, tried all 3 available organisms used in helminthic therapy, and achieved remission from severe Crohn's, so I'd like to clarify the situation.
There are a total of 3 microscopic organisms used in treatment of a variety auto-immune diseases, in particular we are going to be discussing CD and UC here. There is nothing gross or disgusting about them. We have billions of bacteria living inside of us and we wouldn't be able to live very long without them. We humans lived with other organisms, including helminthic parasites, for millions of years and only started getting rid of them over the last 70-80 years in the developed world. Undeveloped countries (most of Africa and South America) still have them and Crohn's and Ulcerative Colitis are virtually unknown there. Granted, they have a host of other problems and diseases but they don't suffer from auto-immune illnesses. Balance is needed. Modern humans survived to this day because we evolved to have strong immune systems that could keep the number of parasitic organisms in our bodies very low. Those that couldn't, died out and we are descendants of those who survived. Parasitic organisms in turn tried to live as long as possible and since the immune system fight invaders using inflammatory response, they evolved to suppress this inflammation and kept our immune system in check. Now that we got rid of them, after evolving to live in a symbiotic relationship with them for millions of years, our immune systems go haywire and go into uncontrolled inflammatory responses. There has been a lot of research on helminthic therapy over the last few years. I am working on a wiki site on which I am posting articles from major medical journals. If you google "open source helminth therapy" and then click on the "Helminth Wiki", on the "Studies & Papers" on top there's a link to google docs repository of all these articles. Some are very heavy on immunology but are highly interesting.
The 3 organisms used are:
1. Trichuris suis ova (TSO) is produced by a German company Ovamed, and distributed by a Thailand company Biomonde. It costs a few thousand euro (I think about 3 or 4) for a 3 month supply. It's basically eggs (ova) of a pig parasite that can't live in humans for more than a couple of weeks. It's extremely safe and the remission rates in CD and UC are over 55% which is amazing. However, it needs to be taken every 2 weeks and the remission lasts only while you're taking them. Good but very expensive.
2. Necator Americanus (human hookworm)
Here's the description of the lifecycle of this organism:
Eggs are passed in the stool , and under favorable conditions (moisture, warmth, shade), larvae hatch in 1 to 2 days. The released rhabditiform larvae grow in the feces and/or the soil , and after 5 to 10 days (and two molts) they become filariform (third-stage) larvae that are infective . These infective larvae can survive 3 to 4 weeks in favorable environmental conditions. On contact with the human host, the larvae penetrate the skin and are carried through the blood vessels to the heart and then to the lungs. They penetrate into the pulmonary alveoli, ascend the bronchial tree to the pharynx, and are swallowed . The larvae reach the small intestine, where they reside and mature into adults. Adult worms live in the lumen of the small intestine, where they attach to the intestinal wall with resultant blood loss by the host .
It's really not as scary as it sounds. I received a tiny vial with what appeared to be 3-4 drops of clear liquid. I applied it to a gauze which I affixed to the inside of my arm with a band-aid. A minor itch developed (Benadryl really helped a lot to get rid of it). A few small red dots were visible for a few days after I took off the band-aid 12 hours later. There was no cough, diarrhea, pain or any other symptoms or side effects.
It lives in people for 3-5 years, though there were documented cases when it was eliminated after 1 year or lived for over 7 years. It's very cheap as it's a one time application every few years and the therapy provider guarantees infection for 3 years and will provide additional doses if needed. So the costs is extremely low, only a couple of dollars a day. Remission rates for CD in the small intestine are over 85%. I hope you realize that's nothing short of a miracle to have such high cure rates for CD.
3. Trichuris trichiura (human whipworm)
Lifecycle:
The unembryonated eggs are passed with the stool . In the soil, the eggs develop into a 2-cell stage, an advanced cleavage stage, and then they embryonate; eggs become infective in 15 to 30 days. After ingestion (soil-contaminated hands or food), the eggs hatch in the small intestine, and release larvae that mature and establish themselves as adults in the colon. The adult worms (approximately 4 cm in length) live in the cecum and ascending colon. The adult worms are fixed in that location, with the anterior portions threaded into the mucosa. The females begin to oviposit 60 to 70 days after infection. Female worms in the cecum shed between 3,000 and 20,000 eggs per day.
There's nothing gross about this. Helminthic therapy provider washes the ova in an anti-microbial and anti-biotic solution and they are provided suspended in a few milliliters of a buffer solution. Essentially, I drank half a cup of clear liquid that tasted like water. That was not disgusting at all and I am very thankful I did it since I am now in complete remission.
Remission rates from UC and Crohn's in the colon are over 85% - again, a miracle to have such high rates. Remission rates from a combined therapy of both hookworm and whipworm, and raising vitamin D levels to at least 50ng/ml are over 90%.
I don't feel them, I don't see them, just like I don't feel and see billions of bacteria in the pro-biotic yogurt I eat every day. We live in a very complicated world and getting rid of all these organisms over the last few years is clearly messing with our bodies and our immune systems. I just restored the balance in my body - it's up to you if you want to do the same.
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I had Crohn's for over 15 years(3 surgeries, blood transfusion after GI bleeding, endoscopies, colonoscopies, prednisone, Remicade, Humira, etc) - I went through a lot. You name it, I've done it. I had severe food allergies for over 10 years, I had severe seasonal allergies and I am now in remission. All I take are some supplements: vitamin D, omega-3 fish oil, magnesium/calcium, B12.
Let me know if you have any questions - I'll be glad to answer them.
My guess is that pig whipworms can make the adjustment to the gut immediately, which is why you can swallow them.
